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Research Methodology

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CONTENTS What is research methodology? What constitutes يشكّل a research topic? How to select a research topic? What are some of the limitations encountered when doing or thinking of doing a

research project? What is a literature review? Where do I find sources of information for my literature review? How to select an appropriate methodology? What are some of the common types of qualitative methodology? What are some of the common types of quantitative methodology? What type of data to collect? How to collect data? How to analyze data? What are some of the tests used on categorical data? What are some of the tests used on continuous data? How to draw conclusions from data? How to present research findings? How to present your paper?

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What is Research Methodology? Is defined as a highly intellectual فكري

human activity used in the investigation of nature and matter and deals specifically with the manner in which data is collected, analyzed and interpreted

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What Constitutes a Research Topic? Unanswered question Unsolved question Concern Query Statement of inquiry

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How or Why Select a Research Topic? Personal interest Social problem Testing theory Prior research Program evaluation Human service practice Minorities in research (Limited Studies)

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What are some of the Limitations Encountered when Doing or Thinking of Doing a Research Project? Time constraints القيود Financial consideration Equipment limitations Human resource limitations

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What is a Literature review? Systematic review of available resources

Theoretical and conceptual تصوري concepts Identification of independent and dependent

variables Measurement and operational definitions Selection of appropriate research technique Sampling strategy Statistical technique Findings and conclusions of similar studies

studied

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For example, if a researcher wishes to see whether there is a relationship between numbers of hours studied and test scores on an exam, he must select a random sample of students, determine the hours each studied, and obtain their grades on the exam. A table can be made for the data, as shown:

Student Hours Studied Grade, (%)

A 6 82B 2 63C 1 57D 5 88E 2 68F 3 75

independent and dependent variables

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The two variables for this study are called the independent variable and the dependent variable.

The independent variable is the variable that can be controlled or manipulated التالعب. In this case, “number of hours studied” is the independent variable and is designated as the x variable.

The dependent variable is the variable that cannot be controlled or manipulated. The grade the student received on the exam is the dependent variable, designated as the y variable. The reason for this distinction between the variables is that one assumes that the grade the student earns depends on the number of hours the student studied.

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Also, one assumes that, to some extent, the student can regulate or control the number of hours he or she studies for the exam.

Another example, if a researcher studies the effects of age on a person’s blood pressure, the researcher can generally assume that age affects blood pressure. Hence, the variable “age” can be called the independent variable and the variable “blood pressure” can be called the dependent variable.

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Where do I find Sources of Information for my Literature Review? Books Journals Internet Data bases Archives Interviews* Observations* Reports Records

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How to Select an Appropriate Methodology? What is the nature of the problem being

investigated? Is the problem being investigated subjective

?or objective شخصيFour types of research methods:

Qualitative* Quantitative* Mixed (qualitative and quantitative) Critical and action oriented موجه

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Qualitative variablesQualitative variables are variables that can be placed into distinct categories, according to some characteristic or attribute. For example, gender (male or female).

Quantitative variablesQuantitative variables are numerical in nature and can be ordered or ranked. Example: age is numerical and the values can be ranked. Examples of quantitative variables are heights, weights, and body temperatures

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What are some of the Common Types of Quantitative Methodology?Quantitative methods can be used to seek empirical

support for research hypotheses.

Surveys Longitudinal Cross-sectional, correlation Experimental Ex-post facto research

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A longitudinal study is a correlation research study that involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time — often many decades. Longitudinal studies are often used in psychology to study developmental trends across the life span.

Cross-sectional studies (also known as cross-sectional analyses, transversal مستعرض studies, prevalence انتشار study) form a class of research methods that involve observation of all of a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time.

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They differ from case-control studies in that they aim to provide data on the entire population under study, whereas case-control studies typically include only individuals with a specific characteristic, with a sample, often a tiny minority, of the rest of the population. Cross-sectional studies are descriptive studies (neither longitudinal nor experimental).

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Ex post facto is a Latin expression that literally translates to mean something that occurs after the fact.

Ex post facto study or after-the-fact research is a category of research design in which the investigation starts after the fact has occurred without interference from the researcher.

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Qualitative Research Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed

in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior.

In the conventional تقليدي view, qualitative methods produce information only on the particular cases studied, and any more general conclusions are only propositions المقترحات.

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What are some of the Common Types of Qualitative Methodology? Biographical Phenomenological Ethnographical Case study

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Biographical studies are undertaken for many reasons, depending not only on the people being studied, but also on those doing the studying.

Each biographical study here consists of a brief summary of the person's life and work, including, as may be appropriate and available, a photographic or other image, list of publications, and links.

Biographical

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Phenomenology begins with an experience or condition and, through the narration الرواية of participants, of either a shared single incident or shared condition, investigates the effects and perceptions التصوّرات of that experience.

Phenomenological method interprets an experience or fact, by listening to the different stories of the participants. The method examines the phenomena through the subjective eyes of the participants.

Phenomenological

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Ethnographical Ethnography البشرية األعراق is a وص���ف

research design aimed at exploring cultural phenomena. The resulting field study or a case report reflects the knowledge and the system of meanings in the lives of a cultural group. An ethnography is a means to represent graphically and in writing, the culture of a people.

(ethnographic study) In-depth study of a culture, which uses a combination of methods including participant observation

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Case study A case study is a research methodology common

such as in social science. It is based on an in-depth investigation of a single individual, or a group.

In the social sciences and life sciences, a case study (or case report) is a descriptive وصفي, exploratory analysis of a توضيحي or explanatory إس++تطالعيperson, group or event. An explanatory case study is used to explore causation السبب in order to find underlying principles.

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What Type of Data to Collect? Categorical مطلق

Nominal إسمي-observations that can be coded Ordinal ترتيبي-observations that can be ranked

Continuous-Observations that can be counted or measured

Mixed matrix of categorical and continuous data

Matrix: :خانات أو خاليا إلى مقّسم جدول مصفوفة

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Continuous variablesContinuous variables Continuous variablesContinuous variables can assume all values

between any two specific values. They are obtained by measuring.

Temperature, for example, is a continuous variable, since the variable can assume all values between any two given temperatures.

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The nominal level of measurementnominal level of measurement classifies data into mutually exclusive (non overlapping) ,exhausting categories in which no order or ranking can be imposed on the data.

A sample of college instructors classified according to subject taught (e.g., English, history, psychology, or mathematics) is an example of nominal-level measurement. Classifying survey subjects as male or female is another example of nominal-level measurement.

Nominal level of measurementNominal level of measurement

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Ordinal level of measurementOrdinal level of measurement The ordinal level of measurementordinal level of measurement classifies data

into categories that can be ranked; precise differences between the ranks do not exist.

Examples of ordinal-measured data are grades

(A, B, C, D, F), rating scales, and rankings.

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How to Collect Data? Observations Interviews Reports Records

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What are some of the Tests Used on Categorical Data? Chi-squared test-to determine the relationship

between variables Fisher’s test-to compare two unpaired groups McNemar’s test-to analyze a matched case-control

study Kappa-to quantify interafter agreement Wilcoxon test- to compare one group to a

hypothetical value Kruskal-Wallis test-to compare three or more groups Spearman test-to compare association between

variables

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What are some of the Tests Used on Continuous Data? T test- to compare one or two groups ANOVA-to compare three or more groups Pearson test-to compare the association

between variables

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How to Draw Conclusions from Data? Use of graphical presentations

Use of statistical analyses

Sharing data among colleagues and

receiving constructive بنّاء feedback

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How to Present Research Findings? Tables-matrix of rows and columns representing variables

Figures-visual organization of data/observations-pictures-pie charts-line charts-bar charts-flow charts-organizational charts-cartogram charts-Gantt charts-scatter plot charts

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How to Present your Paper Provides useful guidelines on:

style in text citations references

Writing should be clear, concise and plain General format should be:

paper size-8.5 x 11 1” margins on all sides double spaced written in 12 point font using Times New Roman short title and page number on the upper right hand corner of

every page

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General Format Title Abstract Main Body

methodology results discussion conclusions

References

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In-text Citation Author’s last name and year of publication

placed in parenthesis next to where the information is cited

Three or more authors, use the last name of the first author followed by et al., year of publication

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Referencing StyleThe most referencing style used is as follows:

Last name of author, followed by initials Last names of authors arranged

alphabetically in the reference list* Capitalize the first letter of the first word in

titles and subtitles Capitalize all major words in journal titles Italicize titles of books and journals